Celebrate by Lauren Conrad with Leslie Bruce
Release Date: March 29, 2016
Publisher: Dey Street Books
Genre: Food & Drink
ISBN: 978-0062438324
Source: Received From Publisher
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From lifestyle and fashion icon Lauren Conrad—#1 New York Times bestselling author of Lauren Conrad Style and Lauren Conrad Beauty—comes her dazzling and essential guide to entertaining, filled with an inspiring array of lifestyle tips and personal stories and lavishly illustrated with dozens of color photographs throughout.

Now that Lauren Conrad has gotten everyone all dressed up and looking their most beautiful, she gives them somewhere to go in this must-have guide to entertaining. Showcasing the same approachable attitude and insight that have made her books smash bestsellers, Lauren Conrad Celebrate shows how easy it is to throw a fantastic party.

Filled with lush and inspiring original four-color photos and budget friendly tips, Lauren Conrad Celebrate offers advice about the basics to make planning any type of event a breeze, including suggestions for the perfect invitations, food, drinks, decorations, and gifts. Lauren shows how to put it all together for a diverse range of events that span the calendar, from a charming Baby shower to a festive holiday party. And she packs the book with creative full-color photos and stories from her own life, including her housewarming party, and her recent bridal shower and wedding.

Just as her trusted advice has inspired women to look and feel their best, now Lauren Conrad brings out the fabulous party-giver in all of us in this elegant, must-have guide.

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I recently had the opportunity to sit down and read Lauren Conrad’s latest book, Celebrate which is all about mastering the basics of throwing any celebration. Having followed her work over the years in beauty and lifestyle, a book like this seemed like a natural step so I was very excited to see what Lauren had to share.

The book is broken down into two parts, Prep which covers party planning and Party which breaks down a dozen different types of celebrations and how to pull off the basics of every single one of them. From the menu to the decor and other little details, this book is a fine collection for any newbie to throwing parties – whether a dinner party, holiday party, or the more significant baby shower, etc… it’s all here. I especially love the overview of wardrobe recommendations for each different type of event as sometimes, you just never know what to wear.

Other tidbits that I enjoyed…the break down of a budget percentage wise as a jumping off point, the handful of delicious pie recipes, a sweet overview of the standard types of alcohol, and the incorporation of Lauren’s beautiful wedding among the celebrations featured in the book.

Another favorite moment came early on as Lauren talked about investing in pieces that are important to you, pieces that you know you can incorporate into many, many celebrations down the line – for Lauren, it’s brass  candlesticks and vases. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in spending money on theme but it’s also important to make sure that you invest for the long term if you do enjoy quality time and plan on hosting numerous parties throughout the year(s).

I also really loved that in the “Baby Shower” chapter, Lauren encourages embracing multiple colors for a gender neutral party rather than just the stereotypical (not to mention wildly overplayed and boring) yellow. Not to mention, girls like blue too and some guys like pink and there are more colors to the rainbow than pink, blue, and yellow. So. Celebrate bringing a new human being into the world by truly bringing them the world.

Finally, I was absolutely stunned that that there was no mention in “The Housewarming Party” chapter of etiquette when it comes to bringing a gift for the host. To be fair, Lauren does mention never coming to a party empty handed in “The Invitations” and “The Dinner Party” chapters as well as the outro but of all places, it is not mentioned or emphasized in this chapter.

The host has just invested (hundreds of) thousands of dollars into a new home so to show up empty handed and cold, not adding anything warmth to the home with a gift is a huge faux pas. No mention of this was truly shocking. You don’t have to buy the host a vacuum or anything but a simple candle, a serving bowl, or a glass of champagne or sparkling cider would do the trick. But something. Bring something. Never have the gall to walk into a housewarming party empty handed, especially if all you’re going to do after you leave the party is talk about and critique that person’s new home that they’ve barely settled into.

Anyway… Celebrate is a solid guide for the adult who finally feels like they’re really emerging into true adulthood and ready to throw that slammin’ dinner party or the adult whose been there for some time but just hasn’t taken the time to do all that they can to nail a celebration. If you think you need this book, then you probably do. So be sure to pick it up today!

Celebrate by Lauren Conrad is available today.